Somewhere in my pile of notebooks, I have a list of things that I need to do before I ever leave San Francisco. "See Alcatraz" was on that list before I finally went a couple of years ago. There are some items on the list that I'm embarrassed to admit I've never done. I am happy, however, that the list is being slowly whittled down.

I've been exploring the city and seeing some of the important sights that I had never stopped to pay attention to before. Some of this is due to a goal that I've undertaken with my neighbor Jenn: we are trying to go on a San Francisco City Guides tour every weekend when possible with our schedules. So far, we've gone on three and are really looking forward to going on more. They're run by volunteers who are really into San Francisco history, and enjoy giving the tours. On every tour, I've learned interesting new facts about SF.

Thanks for hanging with me while things have been a little quiet around here. I usually work freelance doing (data) consulting projects from home. But in the past few months, I've had a project that requires me to go into an office in the East Bay several days a week. I love the project, and am thrilled for the opportunity but it's thrown my entire schedule out of whack and it's my blog and my writing that suffer.

Things are good around here -- they have been for a while, which is fun and lovely.

So this morning I woke up to go to my East Bay job. Got dressed and ready and then received a phone call from my contact there asking me to work from home. It's a good day.

Other things that are making me happy this week:

- A fantastic gin and tonic from Bix the other night: (local) 209 Gin and Fevertree tonic. Doesn't get much better than that.

- The great speech from Marketa Irglova last night at the Oscars. She is one half of the Once duo and she and Glen Hansard won for best song. She didn't get a chance to speak because the music was brought up before she spoke. In my favorite moment of the night, Jon Stewart brought her back and had her make her speech:

"The fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to
hold this, it's just proof that no matter how far out your dreams are,
it's possible. And, you know, fair play
to those who dare to dream, and don't give up. This song was written
from the perspective of hope, and hope, at the end of the day, connects
us all, no matter how different we are."

- Hog Island Oyster Company's Happy Hour. I hadn't been there in quite a while, and it's as good as ever. $1 oysters and $3.50 beers. Monday and Thursday nights, 5pm to 7pm. We also had a delicious cooked scallop dish that's worth a try if it's still on the menu.

- Did you catch Governor Huckabee on SNL this weekend? Politics aside, it was an entertaining skit. (Sound quality on this video is terrible).

I know that many phone calls lately have gone unreturned, blog posts have gone unwritten, and photos have gone un-uploaded. The truth is that I've been busy. Eating.

About week ago, it was cold and rainy here in San Francisco. My throat was hurting, and I was tired from a weekend of parties. I sat across from a friend at Thai House Express. M had suggested the location for a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

I took a bite.

"This is the best thing I've eaten in a week," I said.

It was sublime. After a second bite, it had become my favorite chicken soup in San Francisco. The broth was clean and flavorful, the wide rice noodles and chicken transcendent with tiny crispy bits of God-knows-what that added an extra punch of flavor that I loved.

"What about Shin Toe Bul Yi?" he asked.

"Oh yah, and then there was that good dish at King of Thai Noodles, and -- oh yah! Pizzetta 211!"

When you've found your favorite chicken noodle soup in San Francisco and it is probably the third or fourth best thing you've eaten in 10 days, you know it's been a great few days.

M lived in San Francisco for years and was back visiting. He had a restaurant list, scribbled on the back of an envelope, in his back pocket the whole time he was here. I was game to join him at quite a few (but not nearly all), and added a couple suggestions of my own to create a memorable trip of food in my own city.

Shin Toe Bul Yi. This Korean restaurant in the Sunset is known by many to have the best fried chicken in San Francisco. I love it, find the beef kalbi and panchan to be ok, and think that they have the best menu translations in all of San Francisco. Can't find the fried chicken? Look for "Chicken Small Pieces. Little spicy. (Deep fried)." Tip: the fried chicken is only available at dinner time.

Hing Lung. I've only ever had Hing Lung duck jook to go, but it's like
magic to eat it late at night with chili paste stirred in. It's on
Broadway in Chinatown and I've heard that the only thing to eat here is
the jook and the donuts.

SPQR. M knew I wanted to take him here, and at 8 pm on a Saturday night announced that we should go. "No way in hell," was my response. I knew how popular it had gotten, and put my foot down. He persisted and we ended up getting in 45 minutes later though the quoted time was 2.5 hours. I didn't pull any weight (not that I have any to pull), or ask for any special favors. It was just a fortuitous question that got us in. And I'll never tell how.

Pizzetta 211. If I ever leave San Francisco, Pizzetta is one of the restaurants that I miss the most. There is not much that compares to whiling away the afternoon in the corner seats of Pizzetta with perfectly executed pizzas, good company, and a quintessential San Francisco feel. We shared two pizzas and a salad -- the winner was a rich no-tomato pizza with chard and potatoes. Delicious.

NOPA. I won't go on record with
the number of hours that Stephanie and I were bellied up to the bar
table here, but it was a fun Sunday afternoon/evening. M. joined us
a bit later in the evening (after we'd tasted most of their absinthe
cocktails) and we had a good meal, highlighted by white beans in tomato
sauce and a fantastic dessert.

King of Thai Noodles(Clement at 4th location). Pad Kee Mao, spicy with beef (stir fried dal rice noodles green long bean, bell pepper, thai chili and basil) is the best thing in the city to eat at 2 in the morning.

Incanto. This was my favorite meal at Incanto ever and went a long way in helping me understand why people love it so much. We sat at the bar, and had a quick bite of pastas before leaving for a busy Saturday night.

Tajine. Tajine wasn't on his list, but hit the spot one day as I picked it up to go. A highlight was the chicken with preserved lemons and olives.

Thai House Express (Larkin location). As stated above: Best. Chicken. Noodle. Soup in the City. We had other great things, but it was all eclipsed by the soup.

A16. You all know how much I love the new little sister to A16 (Yes, I've decided that SPQR is a woman -- sassy and cool and oh-so San Franciscan). So the truth is that A16's glory had dulled in my mind a tad in the past few months. I have so many memories of A16, though, and have had so many stellar meals that this apathy was not going to last long: My love for A16 is back in force. Arriving close to 10 on a Tuesday night, we were seated immediately. With four of us, we were able to order a good portion of the menu. I am pleased to say that the pizzas were spot on, the tuna conserva appetizer was remarkable, and that Liza Shaw must be performing miracles in the kitchen.

Yamo. This is a Burmese restaurant in the Mission -- a place that M has mentioned many times as something he craves. The take-out food that he brought me -- especially the curry chicken -- was good enough that I would go back.

Cafe Rouge. I have to admit to mixed feelings about Cafe Rouge. While I think that it's fine, I've never found it to be revelatory. However, it's difficult to knock a place with a $1 oyster happy hour with deliciously executed oysters. This restaurant wasn't on his list or mine -- was just a last minute decision as he headed out of town. It was a lovely meal, and a good way to end a grand run of restaurants.

It's been an incredibly busy couple of work weeks. Thought you'd enjoy a glimpse into my email outbox from the past few days, as there has been a lot of food chatter among my friends and me.

-------to: APsubj: tonight

I am on BART in oakland and it's 11 pm. And I have a bag with a turkey leg and sorghum molasses sitting next to me.

What the hell is this life.

-------to: SL & JBsubj: la trip

We have a reservation at Mozza. and for the record, that was like calling a radio station.

-------to: ALDsubj: potstickers

I randomly bought Trader Joe's potstickers this week in a fit of "I-don't-have-time-to-cook-from-scratch". Made them today and no matter how I dress them up (side of arugula salad with soy, rice vinegar and sesame oil and topped with black sesame seeds and chili oil) they still taste exactly like they did when we were Juniors in school making them in the microwave in the dorm.

On Monday, January 7, you'll find me at the free CUESA panel discussion called "Is it safe to eat? A panel discussion about food safety solutions"

This event features several interesting panelists and I am looking forward to an high level discussion about food safety.

From the CUESA website:

panelists: C. Noelle Ferdon, Senior Organizer, Food and Water WatchKevin Zelig Golden, Staff Attorney, Center for Food SafetyElisa Odabashian, Director of the West Coast Office, Consumers Uniondescription: E. coli, Salmonella, GMOs, pesticides…every week, it seems, news arrives of the latest potential danger in our food supply. When the very thing that is meant to nourish us may also do us harm, how can consumers be conscious without being paranoid? A panel of food safety experts will discuss strategies for making our food safer and the powerful forces that are keeping the status quo in place. Learn about the latest advocacy efforts, proposed legislation, and legal actions that these groups are taking to ensure that our basic human needs are met without compromising our health, and find out how your food choices can make a difference. Join us at 6:30 for a reception with light refreshments. Discussion begins at 7. This event is free and open to the public.

I was fortunate to be able to interview Kathy and Steve Fosmark yesterday for the article -- they are husband and wife and in the fishing industry. Talking to them really brought the devastation of this oil spill home for me -- when you are talking to real people whose livelihoods are being threatened by human error and slow response, it's hard to ignore what's happened.

One of the things I didn't talk about in the KQED article is the fact that the fishermen have been pushing to be part of an emergency response team, and are frustrated by the fact that this plan wasn't in place for the spill. My understanding is that the boats already are required to have equipment which would make them perfect soldiers to help contain an oil spill. And they are highly motivated to help in any way possible. All they need is the green light to be able to help.

As an update to this morning's post, the Governor has suspended fishing and crabbing until December 1 at the earliest. From the Chronicle article:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
issued an executive order late this morning suspending all fishing and
crabbing for human consumption in areas affected by the Cosco Busan
fuel spill until at least Dec. 1.

The ban includes all of San Francisco Bay, along with affected
shorelines, coastlines and waters of San Francisco, Alameda, Contra
Costa, Marin, San Mateo, Solano and Sonoma counties.

I wrote about the new movie How to Cook Your Life this week on Bay Area Bites. There are a lot of people in my life who I want to take to see this movie. Seeing it validated how strongly I feel about food and how cooking is such an integral part of my life. Many of you, I'm sure, can relate to this. Being in the kitchen and chopping, and tearing, and tasting and listening is what grounds me. It can be better than a massage or a therapy session or a great phone call with a good friend. How To Cook Your Life put this concept in the context of Zen practice, and entertained me along the way.

It's starting this weekend in San Francisco and then will be in a few additional cities later this month -- check the site for more details.

Hey y'all, it's San Francisco Parking Day -- a day in which members of the community create temporary park spaces in parking spots around the city. The photo above is the parking space that was created as joint effort between Bonnie Powell / Ethicurean and Curbed SF (that's Bonnie in the photo). I had a couple minutes to see it this morning, and it's a very cool urban chicken display. If you have a chance, check it out on 3rd between Brannan and Bryant before 3. More info on Ethicurean.

In other news, I received an email today announcing that Percy Schmeiser is going to be in the Bay Area in a couple weeks. If you saw The Future of Food, you may remember Schmeiser as the farmer from Canada who was sued by Monsanto.

Monday, November 13, Santa Cruz, Live Oak Grange (831-423-2263)

Tuesday, November 14, UC Berkeley, North Gate Hall (510-847-7141)

Thursday, November 16, Sonoma, Burlingam Hall (707-935-7960)

Friday, November 17, Ukiah, Mendocino Community College Little Theater (707-468-3012)

And ... why don't I leave you with a photo today? A couple of weeks ago, I went to Pt. Reyes with some good friends and this picture (along with the Halloween spiders) is from that trip. It was a bittersweet trip for me for a ton of reasons, but it was a beautiful weekend and I got some ok pictures.

I'm off to LA for a few days (quite a few, actually) so you can look forward to a few posts from there. See you tomorrow!